Straight Talk

February 6, 2012

Recapping: Biblical shalom involves wholeness, delight, and a sense of meaning and purpose for all of God’s creation. Shalom is the way things are supposed to be! This includes four facets: peace with nature, peace in society, peace with ourselves, and peace with God. This is the second in the series on peace in society.
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“The Prophet Micah”
Jan Van Eyck, 1432

One of the most powerful passages in the Old Testament, in my judgment, is the prophet Micah’s commentary on what the Lord requires of us. Here’s the heart of the prophet’s instruction to God’s people:

“With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
And to walk humbly with your God.”
(Micah 6:6-8, NIV)

The prophet asks a rhetorical question: “What does the Lord require of you?” He contrasts sacrificial offerings that were part of the religious life of Jews that at time — not so familiar to us — with living a just, merciful and humble life of obedience.

This is profound, but it is not new news. It’s similar to the question Samuel asked King Saul: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (I Samuel 15:22).

And again, King David shared the same insight when, after confessing his sin of adultery, he wrote: “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17).

In the Bible, living a good and holy life is never viewed as practicing religious rituals or just going to church. ‘To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” was an important instruction about how to live in society with other people, both friends and those with whom we disagree. Righteous living leads to peace and that is what pleases God.

So What?

  • To make these lofty and poetic phrases more personal, think about a practical example of each principle that you could incorporate into your life.
  1. What could you do more “justly” in your work or interaction with others?
  2. In what situations that confront you could you exhibit mercy? What does “love mercy” mean to you?
  3. How should your attitude reflect “humility” in respect to God? How about in respect to other people?